NOIDA:Italy ranks 30 in the latest ICC T20 rankings, but Francesco Bagnaia knows how to play a mean backfoot drive. Before he sets the clock on fire when he blazes down the race track of the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) this weekend for the inaugural edition of MotoGP Bharat, the defending champion and current world championship leader showed off another dimension to his timing \u2013 deft and exquisite \u2013 with a cricket bat in hand.
The bowler was former India cricketer Suresh Raina, the pitch hard asphalt and the wickets a set of plastic stumps in a short \u2018gully cricket\u2019 experience that introduced the world\u2019s elite pack of bike racers to India. \u201cI am very competitive, but it was really fun. In India, cricket is THE sport and it was a lovely experience for us,\u201d Bagnaia said.
Altogether different innings for MotoGP elites in Noida<\/span>
F abio Quartararo, Luca Marini and Pol Espargaro also got a chance to test out their cricketing skills. Not quite the adrenaline rush they are used to, and perhaps why Quartararo and Marini looked awkward both with bat and ball. Unlike Bagnaia, it was clear Marini wouldn\u2019t come close to making it to the Italian cricket team. And Quartararo, a Frenchman, may consider brushing up his cricketing skills should he want to lift France from 52 in the ICC T20 rankings. \u201cI took a close look at the track and it looked beautiful. Good I didn\u2019t damage it with the bat!\u201d joked Quartararo, summing up the sunny mood among the racers as India hosts its first elite GP for the first time in a decade since Formula One packed up.
Indian rider Kadai Yaseen Ahamed, who will be participating in the Moto3 class over the weekend, also joined the top riders and gave his share of wisdom to the cricketing newbies. In the morning, another group of riders got a taste of Indian culture when they participated in a flash mob on the track. Marco Bezzecchi, Jack Miller, Aleix Espargaro, Jorge Martin and Alex Marquez were joined by 30 local dancers as the group danced to the tunes of the Oscar-winning song \u2018Naatu Naatu\u2019 and some other popular foot-tapping tracks. After their performance, Alex, the younger brother of six-time premier class world champion Marc Marquez, quipped, \u201cI know this song. It won the Oscar. I love it.\u201d \u201cI am really happy to come to India, and excited for the race,\u201d he added. The curly-haired Bezzecchi was effervescent during and after the dance. \u201cIt was a fantastic experience. I loved doing that leg shuffle when \u2018Naatu Naatu\u2019 was being played,\u201d Bezzecchi said. \u201cIt was a great show of India\u2019s ethos and culture,\u201d Miller added. <\/div>\n